


somewhere there’s a smile with my name on it

by helsinkibaby



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Het, Post Series, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Steve comes back to Hawaii, alone, to be best man at Danny’s wedding.  But one wedding can sometimes make another...
Relationships: Noelani Cunha/Steve McGarrett, Rachel Edwards/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: 1 Million Words' Weekend Challenge





	somewhere there’s a smile with my name on it

**Author's Note:**

> For the weekend challenge, given weeks ago. My song was The Replacements “If You Were Only Lonely” - think I went way off spec but oh well.

“You gonna be okay, man?” 

Steve paused in adjusting the cuff links on his white dress shirt, looked across the room at Danny who had finished doing up his bow tie and was staring at him with a frown that no man should be wearing on his wedding day. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he said. 

Danny inclined his head, initially conceding the point before he lifted one hand, waving it in a circle. Steve, even after not having seen the sight for almost a year, knew what it meant, knew that some sort of speech was coming. “While I realise that usually the job of the best man would be to keep the groom calm-”

Steve snickered. “I think we both know that’s not gonna happen...”

“I’m slightly more concerned with the fact that you are just coming off yet another breakup with the erstwhile love of your life.” Danny continued as if Steve hadn’t spoken. “So, in all seriousness... are you gonna be okay today?” 

“Yeah, Danny.” Steve didn’t have to think too hard about it. “I’m fine.” 

Except when would Danny ever leave it at that? “You’re sure? Because when we heard that you and Catherine had flown off into the sunset, we thought you guys were finally gonna make it work... now you’re back and you’re not together so we were just...”

“Wondering if I’m gonna see you sliding that ring on Rachel’s finger and run screaming down the aisle?” Steve was joking. The face that Danny made indicated that that had been very much one of his considerations. “Danny, I swear, I’m okay. Cath and me... it just didn’t work out. We tried... but we’re not the same people we were five years ago. And no matter how much we might want things to be different... it is what it is.” 

The fact that he’d had almost six months to come to terms with it before returning to Hawaii maybe made it a little bit easier to be sanguine about it, but he meant every word, even if Danny seemed doubtful. It wouldn’t have been the first time that he hadn’t believed something Steve had told him. “So, what, you’re saying that the timing wasn’t right, is that it?” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Deciding his cuffs were fine, Steve turned to his own tie. “Besides, there’s only so many times you can repeat history and expect it to be different, you know?” 

He realised what he’d said a second too late and a second before Danny’s face twisted like he was in physical pain. “Really? Really, that’s what you’re gonna say? Standing in front of a man who’s about to marry his ex-wife for the second time, on the third go around of their relationship, which is obvious to anyone who can read a calendar and knows the ages of their two kids? That’s what you’re going with?” 

“And it’s because of my experience with Catherine that I know that what you and Rachel have is the real thing.” Steve thought quickly but the added bonus was that it was the truth. Danny didn't look in the slightest bit mollified, was staring at Steve with a disgusted look on his face. Steve held up his hands, as if in surrender. "Look, Danny, we all know you never stopped loving her. We've all known that for years. So you need to stop worrying about me, and think about the fact that you finally, finally, are getting a happy ending. Okay?" 

Danny opened his mouth as if to speak, but Steve didn't let him. "And since you are the most pessimistic person I've ever met, I don't want to hear whatever other words are about to come out of your mouth. Let's get you out there and get your girl, how about that?"

For once, Danny didn't argue with him. 

*

Despite Danny's nerves and misgivings, the ceremony went off without a hitch and Steve found himself, once he was done with all the photographs and the family ones were the only ones left to be taken, able to mingle with the rest of the guests. Which gave him an opportunity to catch up properly with the rest of the team - he'd only returned to town a couple of days before the wedding (Danny was still bitching about him cutting it fine) so while he'd got to see Danny and Junior, both of whom had one foot in his house and one foot out the door, he hadn't really seen anyone else properly. 

He found them all standing together, Junior standing slightly behind Tani, which Steve didn't really understand until she hugged him and he realised quite how backless her dress was when he put his arms around her. Lou and Renee were next to hug him, followed by Lincoln, then Quinn and Adam who seemed to be standing a little closer together than Steve might have expected. Noelani was last to hug him, her smile bright and he spoke before he thought as he looked around the room for someone he expected to see. 

“No Manti with you?” 

He knew he’d misspoken when he saw everyone else’s reactions. Adam winced. Junior’s eyes widened and he shook his head, panic stamped all over his face. Tani and Quinn, meanwhile, looked positively murderous. Even Lincoln looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Noelani was the calmest of them all. “No,” she said simply. “Apparently when a guy tells you he has to go to Maui with the softball team he coaches over Valentine’s Day? That’s another way of saying he’s auditioning your replacement.” 

“Jackass.” Tani’s mutter was audible and Steve didn’t know if she was talking about Manti or his careless question. 

“Noelani, I’m sorry-” he began but she didn’t let him finish. 

“It’s fine.” She said it with an airy wave of her hand. “I mean, it wasn’t at the time, but I’m over it now. Thanks to ice cream and chocolate and several girls’ nights out...”

“Right on.” Tani raised her glass. 

Quinn did too. “Where you attracted tonnes of attention from deeply unsuitable men...” 

Junior’s head snapped around in Tani’s direction. “Excuse me?” 

“Relax, Junes.” Tani’s voice was dry but her smile was fond. “It was Noelani who was beating them off with a stick...”

“If only,” Noelani snickered. 

“You know the type,” Tani continued. “Haoles who think we can’t see the tan line their wedding ring leaves.” 

That did not look like it cheered Junior up at all. “Anyway.” Noelani’s tone made it clear she considered the subject closed. “It was a long time ago, and I’m completely over it.” She paused, pressed her lips together. “Although Danny may have let me take Eddie to the dog park so he could growl at Manti and scare him just a little.” She held her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. 

Steve did not have a problem with that. “I owe that dog a steak.” 

“Already taken care of.” 

"Yeah... we had to put him on a diet by the time you were finished." Junior's voice was teasing, a wide smile on his face and Noelani shushed him theatrically with a finger to her lips. 

"You're just jealous because he likes me better," she told him and everyone laughed at his reaction, comically affronted, his hand splayed across his chest as if she'd mortally wounded him. 

"Sorry, Junes." Tani patted his arm in what was no doubt meant to be a consoling fashion but managed to look more like a mocking one. "But she is right." 

Noelani shrugged as everyone laughed again and Steve was struck by a wave of realisation about just how much he'd missed these people while he was away. He raised his glass of champagne to his lips to cover the moment and for a second, he thought he'd got away with it. Then he saw the tiniest narrowing of Noelani's eyes as she looked at him, an expression that disappeared back to normality when she saw him looking at her. 

Before either of them could say anything else, the sound of a bell ringing filled the room and Steve looked around quickly. "That's my cue," he said. Obviously they'd finished with the photographs more quickly than he'd anticipated. "I'll catch up with you guys later." 

He barely had time to say goodbye before making his way to the top table where he joined Danny's parents and Rachel's mom, trying not to be alarmed by the smile she sent in his direction. Distraction came in the form of Charlie and Grace appearing first, then Danny and Rachel to huge applause, in the form of a large meal and having to deliver a best man's speech that, if he did say so himself, brought the house down. 

Once that was done and the happy couple had had their first dance, he figured his duty was pretty much done so he began making the rounds of the tables, catching up with people he hadn’t seen since he’d left Hawaii, some even longer than that. He spent a long time with Chin and Abby, was hardly able to believe how much Sara had grown. Kono was there too, and if he noticed how she was studiously avoiding looking at Adam then he knew better than to mention it. Duke was there with his wife, Kamekona and Flippa too, and Max had even flown back from Africa for the occasion, although Sabrina and Tunde had stayed behind. 

By the time he finished talking to all those people, the dance floor was in full swing. He’d been hoping to catch up with the team, but most of them seemed to be already on the floor, strutting their stuff. Glancing over at the table where they’d been sitting, he saw Junior, Tani and Noelani still there so he headed over. Just as he got there, however, the song changed and Tani gasped, grabbed Junior’s hand. “This is my song,” she announced, eyes wide, smile beaming.

“It is?” Junior looked mystified as she stood, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him to his feet, for all he was a trained Navy SEAL. 

“Yes it is. Come on.” Tani didn’t take no for an answer - some things, Steve guessed, never changed - and he found himself looking down at Noelani, whose shoulders were shaking with laughter. 

“Tani has lots of songs,” she explained to him as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder in wordless question. “It can be hard to keep up with her.” 

“But he still loves to try, right?” That wasn’t a real question. Steve had known the answer was yes long before Junior and Tani had ever officially started dating. 

“Of course!” Noelani laughed and he grinned too as he dropped down into the chair beside her that Tani had just vacated. 

“You’re not dancing?” 

She wrinkled her nose. “I will. Just letting everyone else warm up the floor.” 

“Ah.” He eyed her appraisingly. “Not because you have sore feet?” She blinked and he continued, “From where I stepped on your toes earlier? Asking about Manti?” 

Her face cleared and she laughed again, waving a hand in dismissal. “Don’t even worry about it,” she told him. “I meant what I said... it’s all water under the bridge.” 

“Still.” He crossed his arms on the table, leaning a little closer towards her. “I have some experience with your entire friend group discussing your relationship, so...”

She leaned in a little closer too. “And you’re not talking ancient history, I believe.” 

He was a little surprised, because she’d never met Catherine. At the same time, though, he wasn’t, because, like he’d said, he knew how the team talked about each other’s private lives. “I am not,” he allowed and then it was her turn to hold up a hand. 

“You don’t have to tell me anything-” she started and he shook his head. 

“There’s not a lot to tell.” And, as he’d said to Danny earlier, there really wasn’t. “Catherine and I were together for a lot of years. If she hadn’t left when she did, we’d probably be married now.” He decided to leave out the part where he’d actually bought the ring. She probably already knew it anyway. 

Noelani tilted her head, sympathy in her eyes, which he rather thought proved his point. “She was your one who got away.” 

“She was. She was.” He’d often described her that way. “That’s what I thought anyway. So when she showed up on that plane that day... I thought it was a new start for us. A second chance, you know?” 

“Except it didn’t work out that way.” 

“Turns out that somewhere in the four years we were apart... we’d both changed. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, just the way things were. We tried to go back... but...” He shrugged and she nodded her head as if she understood. “We still care about each other, we always will...” He glanced across the room, saw Danny and Rachel talking quietly together, surrounded by people but with only eyes for each other. They’d got their happy ending and he was happy for them but he still found himself biting back a sigh. “But it doesn’t work out for everyone.”

When he looked back after Noelani, there was a small, sad smile on her face. “I get that.”

Steve tilted his head, sensing a mystery. “You’ve got your own one that got away story?” 

“Don’t we all?” He made to ask another question but before he could open his mouth, she laughed, pointed a finger at nim. “And no, I’m not telling you about it; I’m way too sober for that.” 

“Sorry.” He raised his beer to his lips. “Guess I can’t help interrogating people.” 

She perked up a little when she heard that. “Is that your way of saying you’re coming back to Five-0?” 

Steve shrugged one shoulder. “Danny’s taking some time... extended honeymoon he’s calling it. Lincoln’s going to need a new partner when he’s away... we figure after that, we’ll see how things go.” The other man had been surprisingly generous in handing back control of the Task Force to Steve, hadn’t even flinched when Steve had mentioned coming back. 

“Five-0 is your team, Steve.” The words made him blink, because he’d never thought of it like that, not after he’d left. “Even when you weren’t here... it was always yours.” 

“Maybe it’s time to let someone else run it... or keep running it.” He knew Lincoln had done a great job, Danny had told him as much. Though Steve had sometimes wondered if he was just trying to make him jealous, appeal to his competitive instincts so that he’d come back to Hawaii. “Ten years, Noelani... it’s a long time.” 

Her eyes went wide. “Is that how long you’ve been running it?” 

“20th September 2010.” Even though it had taken time to get back to Hawaii for the funeral, to accept the Governor’s offer, he always counted the date of his dad’s death as the start of the Task Force. “My dad died and the Governor met me literally the second I stepped foot on the island... offered me Five-0. I turned her down...” He chuckled, took another swing of beer. “If you’d told me then I’d still be here all these years later...” 

“What is it John Lennon said? Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans?”

He remembered his dad playing that record and it made him smile. “I’ll drink to that.” He tips his bottle against her glass of champagne. 

“You’re good at what you do, Steve. Five-0’s success rate speaks for itself.” 

“I had good people around me,” he countered. 

She countered right back. “That you hand picked.” 

Steve smiled - he’d seen this side of Noelani, the sparky side, the side that wouldn’t back down. It had always made sense to him that she would be like that - he knew a little something about woman in a male dominated field, they didn’t tend to be shrinking violets. “You’re not going to give up on this, are you?” 

“Not when I know I’m right.” She held his gaze, steady and strong. “This is your task force... your island. You belong here.” 

Steve took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know... I left the island when I was a teenager. And when I came back... I hadn’t just lost my dad. I’d lost a friend of mine too. Freddie. We’d been best friends since BUD/S... we served together, they built teams around us... he was my brother. And he died, saving my life. After that ... the Navy just wasn’t the same. So when the Governor offered me Five-0... it was my way out.” It had taken him a long time to come to terms with that. Swallowing hard, he raised his beer to his lips and took a long pull but neither action erased the lump from his throat. “And I spent the next ten years going from case to case, losing people I cared about along the way... and I looked around one day and I realised... I had no idea who I was without a gun in my hand, a badge on my hip. And it didn’t seem like it had brought me anything but pain. Loss.” 

“So you went away to find yourself?” 

“Something like that.” 

She narrowed her eyes, tilted her head thoughtfully. “And did it work?”

He took another drink, considering. “Well, I’m sleeping at night. Haven’t shot anyone or been shot at in over a year.” 

“Always a plus.”

The aside made him grin. “I think I needed to remember that I was more than just the job, you know? More than just Five-0, more than the mystery my parents left me. And once I figured that out, I could see what I had, not what I’d lost...” He looked around the room at his ohana, the people he’d missed so much. “I knew then that I didn’t have to run any more. That I could come home.”

“Well, in case you couldn’t tell, we’re all happy you’re back.” The words made his gaze return to her but she wasn’t looking at him any more, was looking down at her drink, twisting the stem of the glass, making the expensive white tablecloth twist around the base. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, he noted, and he pulled at his bow tie. It was getting pretty hot in here with everyone dancing. 

“Yeah, I’m sure Danny is thrilled,” he laughed. “There goes his nice peaceful life.” 

“Oh please.” Noelani rolled her eyes. “He missed you more than anyone.” He must have looked surprised at that because she added with a shrug, “Look, from what you’ve just told me... you lost one brother before you came back here. But you gained another one.” 

He blinked. “I never thought of it like that.” 

“Maybe you should.” Noelani’s smile was back, a glint in her eyes that made him want to smile too. “I’m very smart.”

“That is not news to me.” The flush on her cheeks darkened somewhat but before Steve could think about that too much, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. 

“Uncle Steve!” 

“Gracie!” Steve stood up and hugged his niece. He hadn’t seen her much over the last couple of days; she’d been busy helping Rachel with wedding stuff and even today they hadn’t had a chance to catch up properly. He was looking forward to hearing all about college, everything he’d missed in her life for the past year. “How’s the most beautiful bridesmaid in Hawaii?” 

Only when he let her go and she stepped back did he notice that her smile was a little forced. “About to do you a huge favour,” she told him. He frowned, tilted his head in question but she looked right past him. “Hey, Noelani. I love your dress.” 

“Thank you.” At Grace’s compliment, Steve looked down at Noelani and, for the first time, took notice of the dress she was wearing, an off the shoulder number in shades of turquoise and pale blue that made him think of the ocean. “It was a beautiful ceremony.” 

Grace beamed at her then looked around the room, before looking back at Steve, her hand falling on his arm. “Okay, so you two need to dance together. Right now.” 

The statement, giving new meaning to the term out of the blue, took him by surprise and he blinked. A quick look at Noelani showed that she was similarly taken aback. “Gracie-”

“I heard my grandma say that if you didn’t start dancing soon, she was going to make you.” Grace’s face was serious. One might almost say panicked. "With her."

Steve understood completely and he frowned but Noelani, not having the knowledge he had, simply held up her hands. “Well, I wouldn’t want to deprive your grandmother of a dancing partner-”

“Hang on, not so fast.” Steve held up one finger to her, effectively shushing her - he’d apologise later, he told himself, but she had no idea what they were possibly about to be dealing with - before looking back at Grace. “Which grandma?” 

Grace didn’t blink. “Both of them.” 

Steve was a trained Navy SEAL, a veteran of multiple combat missions. Still, he believed in picking his battles and that one? Was one he wanted no part of. His gaze swung down to Noelani and he held out his hand. “Noelani, would you do me the honour of this dance?” 

He tried very hard to ignore the look of delight on Grace’s face. It was easier when he realised Noelani was looking at him sceptically. “Seriously?” 

“Noelani, you don’t know these two women.” He meant every word and he wasn’t overselling his panic either. “You gotta help me out here.” 

“He’s right, Noelani.” Grace was grinning. “You do not want to get in the middle of a Grandma-off. They never end well.” 

Noelani’s eyes shifted between the two of them and when she caught her lip between her teeth he realised she was weakening. “You really want Danny’s blood pressure rising that much on the happiest day of his life?” he asked and that did it, Noelani laughing as she shook her head. 

“All right, all right!” She rose to her feet and Steve held out his hand to her again, helping her up and leading her out onto the dance floor. The band were playing a fast song, Junior and Tani engaging in some sort of dance contest in the middle of the dance floor with Adam and Quinn but when Steve gestured in their direction, wordlessly asking her if she wanted to join in, she shook her head. Another glance at the two couples assured Steve that this was most definitely another case of picking his battles and that he no more wanted to be in the middle of that one than he wanted to be in the middle Grace’s grandma wars. Besides, there was more space at the edge of the dance floor to move with Noelani, spin her around and try out some of his best moves. She was more than a match for him too, her smile bright as she moved in perfect time with the music. Grinning, he spun her out, extending one arm its full length, before spinning her back in again so that she ended up with her back to his chest, her head thrown back as she laughed with delight. He laughed too, spinning her back out and catching her again before letting her go and stepping back, knowing the song was coming to an end. 

Except his hand was still holding hers when the band shifted seamlessly into a new song. 

A slow song. 

One that had every couple on the dance floor stepping close to each other. 

Steve hesitated for only a second, then he lifted one eyebrow, tilted his head in wordless question. 

Noelani’s smile was all the answer he needed to pull her close, his free arm slipping around her waist, their still joined hands coming to rest over his heart. “You know,” she said after a moment, eyes dancing with mischief, “if you’d rather dance with one of the grandmas, just say the word and I’ll bow out gracefully.” 

He chuckled at that, looked around and found Clara dancing with Eddie, while Amanda had commandeered Lincoln and, by the looks of things, was not impressed with his attempts at waltzing. “Nah, I’m pretty happy with the partner I got. Besides..." Another look at Lincoln had him fighting back full blown laughter. "I think Lincoln's got it covered." Carefully, without making it obvious what he was doing, he turned them so that Noelani could see what he saw, knew she shared his opinion when she ducked her head so that he couldn't see her face, but he could feel her body shaking with laughter. He pulled her a little bit closer to him, all the better to disguise her reaction and they spent the rest of the song, and the one after that, whispering quietly to one another about the pairings on the dance floor.

It was the most fun Steve had had in a very long time.

He spent a lot of that night on the dance floor, sometimes in a group, sometimes with Noelani a willing partner and, at the end of the night when the band were packing up and people were starting to head home, he found himself with his hand at the small of her back as they made their way back to her seat. Her arm brushed against his side with every step they took and she giggled when she dropped down onto her chair, even as she winced, flexing her feet. "You okay there?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Let's just say if I'd known I'd be dancing so much, I would have brought flat shoes."

Steve supposed he should apologise, after all, he was the one who'd kept her on the dance floor so long. The only obstacle to that was that he wasn't sorry at all. "I'd offer to carry you to your room," he told her, "but I think I've had little too much champagne for that to be a safe option."

She shook her head, looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "You think if I had a room here, I'd still be wearing these heels?"

It was no way his fault, he told himself, that he looked down at the shoes in question and, in so doing, found himself eyeing up a rather shapely pair of legs that had never been so much as hinted at under her ME's jumpsuit. "I guess not," he said after a pause that was a little too long to be polite. When he looked up at her, her cheeks were dark and there was a small smile on her face. "How are you getting home?" Because she'd had as much champagne as he had and there was no way he was getting anywhere near the wheel of a car.

"I'll get a cab out front," she said, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear. "It shouldn't take too long."

For a moment, just a moment, Steve considered inviting her up to his room. Only for a moment though, before reason intervened, reminding him that he and Noelani were friends, that no matter how much fun they'd had that night, he had no business trying to take that next step with her. Not now, not like this. No matter how much he might want to, and he suddenly did, with a hunger that actually surprised him. Saying the words, "I'll walk you out," took all the willpower he'd ever relied on as a SEAL and, when he saw a flash of what was surely disappointment crossing her face, he came very close to reconsidering.

Then she smiled. "Such a gentleman."

He stood first, extending his hand to her and helping her up, his hand once more falling to the small of her back as they made their way across to the happy couple, their heads close together, Rachel sitting on Danny's lap. They both stood up when they saw Noelani and Steve approaching them, exchanging hugs and thank yous and, in Danny's case to Steve, a pointed look and even more pointed grin that Steve ignored with all his might.

The concierge was only too happy to organise Noelani's cab, suggested she wait outside for it. Because Steve had been watching her all night, he didn't miss how she shivered slightly as they stepped outside. He couldn't blame her because while it wasn't exactly cold, it was definitely cooler than the ballroom had been, and her dress - off the shoulder, exposing a lot of the skin of her back - wasn't made to trap heat.

"Here." He acted without thinking, pulling off his jacket and draping it around her shoulders, standing in front of her and pulling it closed.

"Thank you." He let his hands fall to his sides as she reached up, pulling the jacket tighter around herself then, as she dropped her head, he gave into temptation, let his hands move to her shoulders, rest there gently. She could have broken the touch with the slightest movement but she didn't. Instead he felt her take a deep breath and when she looked up into his eyes, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

The urge to kiss her was powerful. Overwhelming. As a man whose instincts had saved his life on more than one occasion, Steve found himself ready to lean in, press his lips to hers and he was sure, if the look in her eyes was any indication, she wouldn't push him away.

But then a set of headlights shone right at them, dazzling him, breaking the moment.

Noelani looked around, a small, almost sad smile crossing her lips. "My cab," she said.

Nodding, he cleared his throat, walked her over, accepting his jacket only when the driver had confirmed her name and address. After handing the cab driver enough to cover the fare, ignoring her noise of protest, he opened the door for her and gave into the slightest bit of temptation, leaning down and brushing his lips across her cheek. "Good night, Noelani," he murmured and if the smile he'd been seeing all day was beautiful, this one was a real showstopper. "Text me when you get in," was his last instruction to her and he watched as the car disappeared from sight, feeling like he should be feeling like he lost something but feeling anything but.

Making his way back inside, he heard noise from the ballroom, knew that there were a few die-hards still in there - probably Danny's family and most of the team - eager to keep the party going. He was tempted to join them but instead made his way to the elevators, back to his room, thumbing through his phone as he went, scrolling through pictures of the day. Someone had obviously been using his phone because there were several pictures he hadn't taken, as well as some screen shots of a computer game that he vaguely recognised as the one Charlie had been playing at one point during the evening - he probably should have expected that when he'd given the kid his passcode. They were good pictures though, plenty of the team laughing and joking and making silly faces, but there was one in particular that stopped him in his tracks when he saw it.

Charlie - or whoever had been holding his phone at the time - had captured him and Noelani mid dance, during a fast song because his arm was extended, her hand in his. Her head was thrown back as she laughed, her smile bright and brilliant, and he was smiling across at her, mouth open like he was saying something to her.

He looked happy, he realised.

And when he swiped to the next picture, one where he'd evidently spun Noelani back in towards him, so that her back was pressed against his chest, his arms around her waist, the two of them laughing as they looked at one another... well, yeah, that look that Danny had been giving him earlier made an awful lot of sense.

Shaking his head, he let himself into his room, stripped down to his boxers and went into the bathroom, splashing some water on his face. As he reached for the towel, he heard his phone chime and he padded back into the room, lifting it up, smiling as he saw Noelani's name on the display. "Home safe," it read. "Good night."

He was still smiling as he texted her back, "Sweet dreams," just like he was still smiling as he got into bed and lay down, feeling more at peace than he had in a very long time.

And somewhere across town, he hoped that she was smiling too.


End file.
